


Demons Downtown

by GalaxyAqua



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Hell, Basically, Everyone on the Kill List in DR:AE, Gen, POV First Person, Supernatural Elements, plus the Warriors of Hope
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-30
Updated: 2015-12-16
Packaged: 2018-04-18 02:00:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4688210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyAqua/pseuds/GalaxyAqua
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My name is Komaru Naegi, it’s my 23rd night in Towa City, and not only am I on a list of people being hunted by some maniacal kids, but I may or may not have accidentally opened the gates of hell.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hell's Gate

**Author's Note:**

> so basically dangan ronpa: another episode where it's kill list targets vs the warriors of hope vs the underworld  
> (also, first attempt at writing first person! I am already crying bc this is so hard)  
> (but IT'S HAPPENING)

I don’t have much time to introduce myself, so I think the quickest thing would to be just to tell you who I was.

Just three years ago, I was Komaru Naegi, ordinary high school girl, and my biggest problem was choosing what to have for dinner.

And now I’m Komaru Naegi, prisoner of Towa City.

And I’m running for my life.

* * *

 

It’s all happening much too quickly for me to keep track of everything. Half of Towa City is in shambles behind me, but the only thing I’m truly aware of is the licks of flames at my feet. I could probably catch fire at any second, and that’s not a comforting thought.

Out of nowhere, a dark shape accelerates straight into my stomach, faceless but sharp as a knife, and I swat at it helplessly. I can feel the telltale signs of long fangs opening, with a puff of putrid breath exploding in my face, and a jagged skeleton of something diabolical appears before me. I want to throw up. It’s deformed mouth smiles towards me.

Oh my god. I am actually going to die. I’ve never been this terrified in my entire life. With a startled shriek, I keep running.

To my amazing luck, it’s following me.

I watch as its ribs open like teeth, and avert my eyes in horror, struggling in vain to at least keep them open despite the fumes assaulting my pupils. I can’t take it anymore. I squeeze my eyes shut, and it stings like a thousand needles.  

I want to scream, but my lungs are already overflowing with smoke.

The soles of my shoes are melting off, my skirt is torn in multiple places, my hair is matted, blood and sweat is dripping down my face – it’s all absolutely disgusting, but really, that’s the least of my worries.

Right now, I can’t speak, I can’t see, and I can hardly breathe.

There’s a searing pain in my right side, and I clench my fists into the drenched fabric of my shirt. It’s burning, but I can’t stop running. I can’t stop for anything. Not now, not when I don’t know left from right. Not when I’m quite possibly going to die.   

My attacker seems to suddenly, and very suspiciously back off, but I pay it no heed. The dirt beneath my feet starts boiling, and bubbling in a way that tells anyone who’s remotely aware of themselves that something has gone terrible wrong.

Something _has_ gone terribly wrong.

 _Fukawa,_ I shriek like a banshee in my head, pinning my hopes pathetically on the slim chance that my former companion has telepathy.

And you can call me an idiot all you want, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Touko Fukawa was, and is, the only thing keeping me sane in this place, and if she appeared before me right now, I’d probably never let her go.  

… though she’s no hero, I’ll give you that. She’s grouchy, kinda mean and really doesn’t think much of herself (or me, for that matter). But she’s all I’ve got, and I need to know that she’s still alive.

I curse the fact that I was ever separated from her, because it’s near impossible that I’m going to find her amidst all this chaos. I know that. But my telepathic wailing doesn’t cease.   _Fukawa, where are you?! Fukawa, help me!_

I hear the deafening laughter of those damned children from somewhere high above me. Probably in safety. Probably having fun watching. This is just a game to them, after all. Their pale faces cross my mind, and I want to be sick.  

Shit, my left foot is sliding.

Suddenly, a slab of splintered wood slams into my back, and it feels like I’ve been shot. My chin hits the ground and clench my teeth. It hurts like hell.  

I swallow the tears threatening to spill with all my might, and tear the board from my clothing, and toss it away. Clambering up is no easy task, but the adrenaline pumping through my blood gets me up and running in no time – even though every one of my limbs is screaming for me to stop.

Before I know it, I’m dashing through smoke and fire once more.

 _Fukawa,_ I sob desperately, as the bare skin of my feet begin to touch fire. There goes my last pair of shoes. _If you’re out there, please come and save me._

I know my pleas are in vain, but there’s nothing in me that is thinking rationally at the moment. I run. And cry. And I run and cry until I think that I might collapse. My skin is turning red and raw under the scorching heat, and I sprint for as long and as hard as I can.  

But it isn’t long after that my legs begin to fail me, too.

“She’ll be dead soon,” I hear one of those wretched kids giggle; the pitiless, ghastly little devil. I can envision her savage smile and unblinking stare at the very sound of her voice. The children in this city are the stuff of nightmares, I kid you not.

“Come on, big sis!” She calls out, sweet as honey. “Give in, already!”

 _Don’t talk to me!_ I bite down on the inside of my cheek, determined not to give the repulsive thing what it wants. I’m certainly not cut out for this, but it’s life-or-death and I’d rather I got out of this one alive.

The ground starts shaking, and I stumble slightly. There’s nothing for me to do but keep running, yet in the distance I hear the kids start to falter. That can’t be a good sign.

“Wait, Monaka, isn’t there something strange happening over there…?” One of them asks warily, booming loudly over the crackle of giant flames. It’s probably the sensible little soul with the blue hair, but at this point in time, I really could not care less.

“Eh?” I hear Monaka laugh; a tinkling, pretty melody that devoured everything around it. “You need to pay more attention, Nagisa! Nothing is happening over there, silly.”

A softer voice speaks up, with a shaky tone that makes me tremble involuntarily. “Hooo… I’m getting the shivers all over… my chest is pulsing, so I just want to scratch and tear it apart…”

“Ugh, no-one cares, Jataro!” Comes a high pitched squeal, and a grunt tells me that one of the kids pushed another one over. Bullies, the lot of them. She continues to squeal, when a crash much like thunder strikes the sky. “Hey, you were supposed to catch him, Masaru!”

“Why do I have to do it?”

“You’re the closest, dummy!”   

My mind shuts them out.

Oh, no… I’m losing focus. I won’t be running for much longer. Not good, not good…

_Fukawa!_

God, where is she?

_Fukawa… I’m scared…_

A sudden hammering in my head makes me fall to my knees in agony. It’s like an iron fist crushing my skull, and I tug at my hair, frantically trying to escape from it. The earth is still shaking, and I thrash about, not caring what I look like anymore.

That’s it… there’s no way out. I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die –

Abruptly, just before my mind blanks out, the heat vanishes. Not a single sigh of relief passes my lips.

I momentarily lose all sense of myself, and in that second, all that exists in my tears.

I’m brought back to reality when an alarming familiar sound reaches my ears, and I hear someone yelling, “Komaru! Hey! Hang in there, you’re going to be alright!”

A cold touch makes me shudder, chilling me right down to the bone. It momentarily phases through me, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think I was being turned to ice.

I break into a cold sweat, but my body refuses to move any more. I feel heavy, and my eyelids start to droop. That’s it. I’m dying. I’ve lost all hope of staying alive, so I simply cling to the small chance that I will at least die a painless death. The tears dripping down my face do nothing to comfort me.

“Ah! Don’t go to sleep, Komaru,” they scold fiercely, and a stinging slap crosses my cheek. I cough on instinct, and am dismayed to think that I’m probably hacking up blood.

The frigid touch meets my cheek again, as I hear a fervent, borderline aggressive snarl of “Komaru, I’m sorry, but you need to stay awake! Wake up, hey! Wake up! Don’t you dare die now – this is not the time!”

I fight to stay awake. But what would be the point? I’m going to die sooner or later… all I am is a weak, pathetic, worthless…

“Holy shit! What is _that_ , hey, come on Komaru, wake up, you need to see this!”  

I feel myself being lifted off the ground, and the action is so hurried that the wind whips my hair into my face. It’s cold, everything is so cold…

“Komaru, you have to open your eyes right _now_ , I don’t know how long I’m going to be able to carry you, and if you fall, you’ll be falling into an abyss, oh my god, Komaru, please wake up, you’re going to fall, I literally only have one arm – ”

I want to die. I want to fall into that abyss. I don’t ever want to come back to this place – this godforsaken city of torment and tyrannical little monsters. This living graveyard of despair, where I’ve spent 23 nights in indescribable terror and two years imprisoned in a life of complete exile. I want to die.  

Yet against all odds, I open my eyes.

A white, disfigured face, with strikingly familiar blue eyes, stares worriedly down at me.

My stomach drops, with the sinking sense of dread.

Despite everything I’ve seen in Towa, what frightens me the most is not the thought of dying any more. It is the fact that I am in the cradle of the impossible, right here, right now.

It is the fact that Yuuta Asahina is carrying me.

Yuuta Asahina, who is supposed to be dead.

And don’t get me wrong, I hold no ill feelings towards him.

There’s no proper reason why I’m scaring the shit out of him by screaming in his face. Cross my heart and hope to die. It’s just that I’m too far gone to even notice that I’m doing it. It’s just that Yuuta’s face is the only thing that’s telling me that I’m physically intact but I’m losing my mind.

“Calm down, calm down,” he begs, his expression contorting into panic. “Shh, it’s okay! You don’t have to be afraid of me!”

It’s just that the last I saw of Yuuta was his body being blown to pieces, falling like rain over the harbor and staining the water a sickening hue of red. It’s just that the last I saw of Yuuta was total annihilation. A threat to Fukawa and I, and a warning that we would be next.

His being here is simply not possible. The only probable answer is that either I’m dead, or he has come back to life. And with no other logical explanation, I’m betting on the former.

“Yuuta,” I breathe shakily, after screaming my throat hoarse and taking in his translucent skin and harrowing appearance. He looks a lot less alive than I remembered, the marble white skin aside, and I’m definitely an idiot if I thought for a second he had come back to life. “Am I dead?” I ask, and his aquatic gaze sharpens.

He opens his mouth to reply, but abruptly shrieks, pulling me closer to his freezing chest as he flies forward and narrowly avoids a looming, dark form. I look up at him in alarm, and then in fear, recognizing the shape as the fang-ribbed monster that had attacked me earlier. Great. So I'm definitely not dead. But I might as well be.

“Yuu – “

“I really, really, really hate monsters!” he interrupts, surging towards the closest building with a fiery determination in his otherwise cold presence. I feel myself tipping dangerously in his hold, but can’t alert him to it – because it is then that I notice he wasn’t lying when he said he only had one arm. There’s empty space where his left arm should be, and I remember with stark clarity that it was that very arm that held the bracelet that ended his life.

My silence doesn’t seem to worry him, as he slams through the window of the building with a startled ‘oof!’ and drops me on the rocky floor. That grabs his attention instead.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” He says quickly, floating up and down and running an anxious hand through his hair. His irises flicker over my shoulder, to what I can only assume is his way of ensuring that we had landed in a marginally safer place. “You’re alright, aren’t you? I really haven’t gotten the hang of flying yet. We were supposed to make a better landing, I promise.”

I stare at him, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, and he shoots me a sheepish grin. A few beats pass, where none of us say a single word. 

“Uh, hi. Hi Komaru." He breaks the silence, with a strange sort of smile on his face. "It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Where’s Fukawa?”

“Not … not here…” I reply, still in a state of shock. Now that I can see him fully, I notice that not only is an arm missing, but he’s also missing both his legs. I guess that’s what the flying is convenient for, then. But what in the world is going on…? How is this even possible...?

“Well!” He chirps, as cheerfully as one can in a situation like this. “Don’t be sad! I’ll help you find her again! And then we can figure out what’s going on!”   

“Yuuta…” I begin to say, though what I want to say, I still don't know. How can he still be so upbeat, when he of all people knows first hand what this world can do to him...?

“What? What is it?” He tilts his head to the side, white bangs sweeping in one direction. “You’ve been staring at me like that for a while now. Is there something on my face?”

“N-no…” I shake my head. I'm truly in awe at how he can still be so calm in times like these. After all that's happened. He’s a little like my brother, in that sense, as both of them share the same blind optimism. Or as Fukawa likes to call it, ‘dumb optimism’. Same difference.

My body hurts all over, but I straighten my back in an attempt to at least mimic his brave stance, and ask the first question on my mind. “How… how is it that you’re here? After… you know…?”

“Oh, the explosion?”

I cringe at his lack of tact but nod anyway.

He strokes his chin, as if in deep thought. “Well, I’m still technically _dead_ , if that’s what you’re asking! I don’t really know how I got here, but I mean, I guess if I had to call it something – then I’m a ghost now?”

What?

I feel beads of sweat gathering at my temples once more, and I’m not sure if I’m nervous, panicking, or scared all over again. That just took an unexpected turn.

“A ghost…?”

“I dunno,” he shrugs, his shoulders rising and falling awkwardly. “All I know is that I’m here, and that I gotta get you out of Towa City before this entire place is swarming with ghosts and goblins.”

“G-ghosts _and…_ goblins?”

He shrugs again, and for a second I think I see his blue eyes shimmering with sadness. “It’s all just speculation, but if _I’m_ here somehow, then everything else is going to follow after me, isn’t it?”

I clench my fists, and my fingers are pale and icy. “Everything else… meaning…”

“Uh, the rest of hell? Maybe?”

I blink.

Oh. _Oh, no._

I think my brain is short-circuiting. I wonder if it would be insensitive to ask him how on earth a person like him ended up in hell. Probably.

So I settle with just sputtering, “W-what the hell?!” and immediately regret it.

Thankfully, Yuuta just nods, taking in my look of disbelief with a gracious wave of his arm. When he sees his hand make a shadow on the wall, a gasp of delight leaves him, and he starts making shadow puppets on the grey stone to demonstrate his point. “Blah blah blah, hell’s gate has been opened, blah blah blah, demons and stuff escape, blah blah blah, the world ends." He presses his only hand to his forehead. "I’m gonna cry, Komaru, I really am.”

“But I don’t…”

"Whoa, wait up," He suddenly puts a hand up to silence me, and I clap my fingers over my mouth. The urgency flooding into his face takes me by surprise, and I hear a little voice in the back of my mind still crying out to Fukawa for help. She's not coming. I know that. That doesn't change the fact that I want her here, to tell me to grow a backbone and get on with it. 

“Who's there?” Yuuta calls into the darkness of the building, and I busy myself with rubbing the dried blood off my face. God, there’s a whole lot more than I thought there was.

No-one answers him, and I don’t know if we’re either both relieved or in dread.

“Is there anyone there?” He tries again, and there's the thud of something heavy falling. I stiffen, pulling my hands from my face and go to watch Yuuta instead. Whatever he's seeing suddenly makes him freeze, so after a moment, I turn to face the very direction he is looking. The silhouette of another human makes me draw a sharp breath.

“… who the fuck are you?” someone shouts from that very direction, cutting through the silence with a growl.

I jump, immediately falling back. Something in the darkness is glinting towards me, and I hope to everything that is good in the world that it is not a gun.

“Don’t tell me you’ve come to the library to borrow books.” The stranger continues, “I’ve heard that excuse before, and that ended with Takaaki shooting the head off that piece of scum.”

It suddenly occurs to me that we are, in fact, in the city library. Now I’ve been accused of being slow on the uptake before, but I swear to you up and down that this place is nothing like its former glory. It’s basically lying in smithereens, and the roof could collapse at any moment. Definitely not one’s first thought, when referring to a well-furbished, high class building; and especially not one built solely for the wealth of wisdom, and the realm of knowledge. Fukawa would certainly be disappointed.

With a quiet, "Up, Komaru," Yuuta pulls me to my feet, and the source of the voice finally reveals himself.

From behind the ruined entrance to Towa library, a young man with spiky blond hair steps forward, metal bat poised towards me, as if ready to strike at any given moment. Hostile. I gulp. He scowls on sight, and narrows his sharp brown eyes. The hollowness beneath them tell me that he probably hasn’t slept in weeks – and I don’t blame him.

“Well?” He hisses, expression hardening. “Are you going to answer me?”

“I-I’m Komaru Naegi,” I reply, slightly delayed. Hesitantly, I show him the black bracelet around my wrist; flashing the blinking red light straight at him, so he knows that I’m not an enemy.

He doesn’t put the bat down.

“Okay then, ‘Komaru Naegi’…” The blond jerks his head towards Yuuta, and for a second I see a dash of blood on the stranger’s neck. I make no comment. “Who, and _what_ exactly, is he?” I see the guy eye the brunet’s lack of legs and missing arm, and immediately feel defensive over my friend.

Yet before I can do it for him, Yuuta introduces himself, with a quick, “I’m Yuuta Asahina, and I’m a ghost.”

“Bullshit.” The blond scowls, but Yuuta doesn’t shrink back.

“You don’t have to believe it,” I chip in wearily, because I know what he’s probably thinking. It’s new to me too, but at this point, I think I’m going to simply have to accept anything that comes my way – no matter how inherently crazy it sounds. “You just have to know that Yuuta’s on our side.” I tell him. “He got killed by those kids, after all.”

“Oh, yeah? Prove it.”

I had wanted to settle things peacefully, but the challenge eats me right up, so I spit back at the asshole, with my hands on my hips, saying: “Name the game, and I will!”

“Hey, you two, don’t fight…!” I hear Yuuta attempt to interject, but I don’t break eye contact with the blond – no matter how much he resembles the leader of a biker gang – and he, in turn, glares straight back at me.

“Takemichi Yukimaru, stop causing trouble.” A booming voice from behind His Mighty Rudeness TM has all three of us turning our heads. There, on the remains of what looked like a staircase, stands a man dressed as a police officer, with his arms crossed over his chest and a grave look on his face. He looks a little like those wicked detectives on the cop shows I used to watch, but I don’t think saying that out loud would earn me any points in his favor.

“… tch.” He grunts, when he scans over Yuuta and I, and a frown sets deep in his features. Somehow, I feel the greatest urge to bow before him – he’s got that powerful presence that you really can’t say ‘no’ to, after all – and I only just refrain from doing so. “… carry on, then.” He says coldly, turning on his heel and walking back the way he came. “As long as you’re not picking fights with the brats that _I_ intend to kill.”

Takemichi, whom I assume is the name of the jerk with the bat, immediately loses his aggression and chases after the man, with both his hands gripped tightly to his weapon. The height difference is incredible, and if it had been any other situation, I'm sorry to say I may have laughed. “Wait, Takaaki, sir,” he protests valiantly, “They’re one of us!”

I quickly recall Takemichi’s mention of someone named Takaaki from before – _‘and that ended with Takaaki shooting the head off that piece of scum’_ – and wonder if that Takaaki and this Takaaki were one and the same.

Only an idiot would say 'no'.

I try not to cower. I have to be strong, at least until I find a reason to hope again. Crying won't solve anything.

Yuuta seems to make the same realization as me, and watches Takaaki with renewed caution.

“You throw that term around so casually.” The man says, rolling his eyes at Takemichi. The blond’s eyebrows furrow, but continues anyway.

“Well, I don’t know about … him, but the girl has the bracelet. They’re targets, too.” Takaaki keeps walking like the younger male had not said anything, and Takemichi’s gaze flicks towards us for a second, before in a last ditch attempt, he recites, “Their names are Komaru Naegi and Yuuta Asahina, sir.”

Takaaki halts in place. “… Naegi… and Asahina, you say?”

“Yes, sir!” I reply, after Takemichi glances down at his bat, uncertain if he remembered our names correctly or not. Maybe he isn’t as bad as I thought, but now is not the time to be thinking about that. I try to look Takaaki directly in the eye, but something in his stern expression pushes my gaze to the floor.

“Hmm.” Takaaki sighs heavily after a moment, looking Yuuta and I over with a disdainful look. “Alright. Come with us, you brats.”

Half out of obligation and half out of fear, we follow after him, keeping a fair distance away. I notice the gun hanging on his belt, and wonder if it’s loaded. A stupid question, really.

“… why’d he change his mind?” I ask Yuuta, keeping my voice down even though I knew Mr. Takaaki couldn’t hear us. Yuuta just gives me a look that reads ‘how the heck am I supposed to know?’ and I mouth ‘sorry’ back at him.

“It’s not that hard to figure out once you get to know him.” Takemichi, who is still within earshot, surprisingly speaks up. His voice is a little rough – like he’s still trying to intimidate us – but it’s more subdued now, and less aggressive. He walks a little faster, as if not wanting to associate himself with Yuuta and I – and that suits me perfectly fine.

“What do you mean?” I ask, failing to conceal the curiosity in my tone.

“Maybe he took pity on us?” Suggests Yuuta, when Takemichi fails to provide us with a response. So he’d only talk when he wanted to, huh?

“Maybe he’s a nice guy?” I add, keeping our reluctant companion in the corner of my eyesight, waiting for him to fill the gaps for us.

“Maybe he was half-asleep?”

“Maybe he just likes us?”

“Or maybe you knew his son.” Takemichi snaps. “God, you're annoying. He misses him. Your names probably rang a bell. Is that really such a big deal? We all miss someone, at least. Even me.” The blond blinks, realizing that he had rambled a little and immediately powers ahead, kicking a stray stone in his path; evidently embarrassed by his own words.

I make a mental note to ask Takaaki about his son, if I ever get the chance. And maybe, I'd ask Takemichi about the person that he misses, too.

Turning to Yuuta, I’m shocked to see a sudden wave of tears spring forth from his eyes.

“W-wha, Yuuta, what’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing, really,” The brunet shrugs, hurriedly wiping his tears and looking entirely bewildered himself. “Hearing that just makes me kinda miss my own family, you know?”

My gaze softens, and thoughts of my mother, my father, and my elder brother Makoto flash across my mind. “I know.” I tell him. “Me, too.”

“At least you’re still alive,” Yuuta says, and there’s nothing bitter in it, just sorrow. I feel myself wanting to cry with him, but I’ve already cried myself dry today.

“I’m sorry.” I say. It’s all I _can_ say.

“We’re here.” Takaaki calls from a long way ahead of us. I hear a door creaking open, so I assume that's wherever 'here' is. “Don’t try anything, because I won’t guarantee that I won’t shoot you if you do.”

I wipe the sweat from my brow, and hurry towards him, limping the entire way – while Yuuta floats up beside me. Takemichi is already standing at the double doors when we reach him, and holds one open for us; avoiding our eyes when we both send him a small ‘thank you’. 

I'll tell you now, I really don't know what to expect.

Maybe a prison, maybe a torture room. Maybe cages full of monsters. Maybe fireballs flying around.

But the first thing I see when I enter the room is a woman with long, cascading pink hair with her feet propped up on a broken table. A big, fat black cat wearing lace lies flat across her stomach, and she strokes it lazily. A cigarette hangs from her lips, and she spits it out the very moment Takemichi closes the door, and Takaaki lets out a disapproving grunt.

“Oh, hey there,” the woman greets cheekily, before her eyes meet mine, and she assumes a playful smirk. She doesn't lift a hand from the cat. “We’ve been expecting you.” She says, almost sinister, then laughs a little at her own imitation of a villain. I smile at her nervously, a little taken aback.

“Um, no! That’s not true! We haven’t been expecting anyone, actually!” Quips in a pretty girl to her right, who apparently thinks examining her nails is more important than anyone else in the room. She looks like the heroine of a shoujo manga, so I can’t help admiring her for a few seconds.

“Feh, details, details.” the pink-haired woman says, waving the girl’s comment off with her free hand. She sends Takaaki a knowing look instead. “So, Ishimaru-chi, still pickin’ up strays, are you?”

“Silence.” He tells her, features looking more sunken and worn in the dim light than I remember. I feel a little sorry for him, now. He must have been through a lot. Clearing his throat, Takaaki announces to the room: “I have bad news for you all.”

Slowly gazing around, I notice the disheveled, disorderly group of people who make up the tiny gold mine of other human beings Yuuta and I have all of a sudden discovered. I don't have time to feel relief, or really anything though, when a strong hand is on my back and pushing me and Yuuta forward - so that we're both in full view of everyone in the room.

"First," Takaaki booms nonchalantly. "This here is Komaru Naegi, and Yuuta Asahina. They will be joining us from here on out."

Someone in the back lets out a shrill, “Oh my gosh,” and every head looks towards her.

She, a small, rather plump-looking girl, with puffy swirl-laden cheeks and bright eyes, points at Yuuta and goes pale. “H-he’s a – that’s a – “

“Ghost. Yeah. Deal with it.” Takemichi grumbles, shocking everyone in his quick defense of the brunet. Yuuta shoots him a grateful smile. I give Takemichi a thumbs up, and he averts his gaze.

“That brings us to the bad news.” Takaaki Ishimaru says darkly, ignoring the young girl as she faints in the arms of the closest person – the shoujo heroine with the perfect nails – while said person frets over her, murmuring ‘choberiba’ or something like that. My ears are tuned towards the man in charge, and I hear little else of their conversation.

“Soon, he’s not going to be the only ghost around.” Takaaki continues, massaging his temples as if the weight of the world rested on his shoulders. “Those diabolical children have made a broadcast you’re all going to hate.”

“Don’t they always?” The woman with the pink hair interrupts, and though Takaaki sends her a swift glare, he does not rise to the challenge.

“At any given moment, the true demons will be advancing on our world.” He pauses, perhaps for dramatic effect, and I grip tightly to the torn edge of my skirt, hoping he isn’t about to confirm what I thought he was going to confirm. “Someone has opened the gates of hell. And that opening is right in the center of Towa City.”

The blood drains from my face, and a quick glance will tell me that I’m not the only one.

The entire room escalates into madness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been a while, sorry!!

No-one calms down after that.

It’s kind of expected, when someone’s just told you that hell is opening up – granted, yes, I freaked out too – but I’d have thought the adults at least would’ve been able to handle it more sensibly. Poor judgement on my part; adults are just as human as the rest of us, despite what those nasty kids seem to believe!

Amidst the chaos, I survey the room, wiping sweat from my forehead. A man in glasses in the far corner of the room ducks his head when my gaze reaches him and starts typing slowly into his laptop, but other than that, the atmosphere is wrought with panic.

Takaaki walks out the moment after he’s done with his announcement, and Takemichi follows him, but everyone else is varied levels of either endless screaming or shell-shocked silence. I clench my fists by my side, willing myself not to fall despite the heavy ache in my legs.  

Yuuta tugs on my sleeve, and asks, “Should we be going too?”

“Where?” I sigh, and put my face in my hands. “I just wish Fukawa was here…”

“We could go out and look for her?”

The pink-haired woman from earlier scoffs. I raise my head to look at her, if only out of respect. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” She smirks, but it looks weary, “It’s hard enough to keep our rowdy little party together. You think you stand a chance going out there and looking for your buddy? Chances are, she’s already dead.”

“Hiroko!” scolds the teenage girl – yes, the teenage girl with the pretty shoujo hair, I note quietly – as she slaps her notebook down on the table, and lets her presence be known. “What happened to ‘stay positive’?”

Hiroko waves her hand dismissively. “That got old real fast, princess.”

“Just like you?” She snickers.

“You’re only asking for it, Kanon,” the woman rolls her eyes, and starts to scratch the cat behind its ears. She doesn’t seem too mad though, just amused.

“Oh, I know you like to banter.” Kanon mimics her dismissive wave from earlier, moving to pat her still-unconscious friend on the cheek with her other hand and cooing, “Yamada. Yamada, wake up. The ghost guy is gone now.”

I look at Yuuta, who is still very clearly floating beside me, and shrug with him.

“In any case,” Hiroko diverts her attention back onto us, and I stiffen. She looks a little scary, almost as if she were a delinquent cornering us in a dark alleyway, and no, my imagination is not wild, this is definitely exactly what she looks like to a T. Dark glare, fiery aura, the lot. “You kids better stick with the Resistance from now on. That’s us, by the way. And we won’t let you die – or at the very least, we’ll try not to let you die. 100% genuine deals are too hard to come by these days, you know?”

“Certainly runs true in your family,” quips Kanon, amusedly. Hiroko glares, though it’s not malicious.  

“If you’re insinuating something, princess, I’d advise you keep your mouth shut.”

I smile, just a little, at their antics.

“Anyway, since you’re part of us now, go look around. Maybe do some introductions,” Hiroko eyes Yuuta for a second. He smiles nervously, but instead of reacting negatively, she just smiles back. “Maybe get some people more used to the sight of your friend, here. Then you can decide on your next course of action. Provided, of course, that you stay within the Resistance circle. Take a step out and we cannot guarantee your safety.”

I gulp and nod.

Then Hiroko turns, to help Kanon wake Yamada, and I face Yuuta, silently asking where he wants to go.

“Introductions?” He suggests with a shrug.

“Okay.” I take in our surroundings, scanning over the faces of terror and thinking maybe the best place to start would be with someone a little calmer. Preferably someone that wasn’t shaking so hard they fall over, I muse, watching an older man grip onto the wall like it was his lifeline.

My eyes fall back on the man in glasses from earlier. He’s still typing away, but he stops occasionally, and I think he’s trying to look up as subtly as possible, before he dives back behind his screen again. I gesture towards him with my thumb, and Yuuta nods.

Curious, I approach the man with the laptop, who flinches the moment I step within a two meter radius. _Oh no,_ I think. _Don’t be afraid._

Half of me says it’s just Yuuta that he’s scared of, but now, after having overcome the initial shock, I have adamantly decided that I will protect my ghost friend no matter howpeople may react to him.

“Hi,” I greet cheerfully, aforementioned ghost friend in tow. “I don’t believe we’ve formally met. I’m Komaru. This is Yuuta. What’s your name?”

“Hi…” He blinks slowly, and forces a smile. It’s a nice sentiment, because I feel myself automatically smiling back, as he says, “I’m Taichi Fujisaki.”

“Nice to meet you!” I chirp. Using my right hand, I gesture to his laptop, mostly because I’m interested to see why he’s so focused on it all the time. “Are you working on something here?”

“You could say that.” He answers, easing into the conversation. He still looks a little uneasy, but I choose not to call him out on it.

“Are you good with computers?” I rock onto my heels. “I’m not that good with computers, but the internet is pretty fun.”

He chuckles, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’m not sure I’d say I’m good with them, but I _am_ a programmer, so…”

“Oh, that’s so cool!”

Yuuta chances a smile at him. “I never really got how computers worked, so I gotta say, I really respect you. For, uh, what you do!”

Taichi looks stunned, but eventually smiles back, eyes falling back to his screen. “Thank you. I’m… no-one’s ever said that to me before.”

I’m about to tell him that _that’s stupid_ because clearly he’s a respectable guy, but I hear a rumble and the words catch in my throat. It’s definitely not my stomach, so… who’s…?

It starts to get louder, and my only thought is _who on earth is really hungry right now?_

Then I feel a jolt from beneath. The ground starts shaking, and within seconds, I can see dust falling from the roof, coating everything in plain sight. The rumble blows up, ringing through the air with excruciating noise, and I cover my ears, dirt smearing into my hair.  

Alright. The earth. The earth’s stomach is rumbling. _Shit, this was not part of the plan._

Figures that we wouldn’t have time to sit around and chat.

“We have to go,” I hiss to Yuuta, and he nods, repeating the phrase loud enough for the whole room to hear. Not that they would need it; some of the people who had just calmed down had started screeching again.

I kick open the double doors, yelling, “Run, come on! This way!”

“W-what’s going on!?” Taichi hugs his laptop protectively, and dashes while I hurry everyone up, keeping an eye out for the weaker spots in the ceiling that look like they’ll collapse at any given moment. The goddamned fancy cat just stares at me, and I sure as hell am not carrying that thing out of here. I glare. _Come on, kitty! Start running!_

Luckily, Hiroko’s close enough to scoop it up and simultaneously answer Taichi’s question with a frantic, “No idea, but if we stay here, we’ll be buried alive, chumps!”

“And you call _my_ words outdated,” I hear Kanon mutter under her breath, tugging her friend Yamada by the hand as they run on ahead; a megaphone I never noticed before bouncing off of Kanon’s hip. My stomach twists painfully. Seeing them reminds me of Fukawa, and I am suddenly struck with just how much I miss her grouchy presence by my side.

“Komaru,” Yuuta ventures, cold hand on my shoulder. “Don’t think too hard, okay? Now is not the time to be worried. You just have to get out of here. Focus on one thing at a time!”

“Thanks,” I try to sound brave, but it comes out a whisper. He squeezes my shoulder before letting go, pausing for a moment to look out for the few members of the Resistance still trying to catch up.

He still garners a few strange looks, but with his confident posture, I assume that he’s got it all under control.

Soon, everyone (at least I hope it was everyone, having not acquainted myself with a good majority of this rackety bunch) is out of the room. And we run, limbs burning from the mad dash and from the lack of recovery time when dodging obstacles all over.

A loud crash can be heard and though nobody stops running, all heads turn to look back towards the double doors, where the handles have already flown off and the lights above the doorway already blown to bits. I feel my breath catch, hoping to hell that nobody was caught. And that nobody would ever be caught as we went on.

Though eyeing the group, I know that those chances are slim. We’re too many people, and not enough power. It would take a miracle for all of us to get out alive – not just here, but on the surface of Towa City as well.

The rumbling cuts off with a shrill clap.  

Eerie silence follows, every individual halting in their tracks.

I hear a sigh of relief to my left, but even I know not to be so hopeful. There’s no way this is over yet. A murmured hush sweeps through the crowd, words swirling and multiplying like a dark haze in my head. With volume, the haze increases, and the pressure starts to hurt. I put a hand on my forehead, trying to stop the throbbing pain.

Another loud sound pierces through.

“We have to split up,” Takaaki booms, commanding attention with a single shot of his gun.

Hiroko groans, expressing my thoughts in words. “You know that whenever they say that in the movies, someone’s gonna die, right? Worst case scenario; everyone’s gonna die. No. Bad idea, Ishimaru-chi. Bad idea.”

“It’s non-negotiable.” The police officer insists with a cold sternness. “It’s the only way.”

“There’s never only one way,” the woman retaliates, hoisting the cat she is still holding onto her shoulder. “I say we stick together.”

Taichi sticks up his hand hesitantly. “May I say something?”

The adults arguing look over to him, and Hiroko raises an eyebrow. “Taichi, this isn’t middle school. Just say it.”

“Well, don’t uh, don’t quote me on this, okay? My ideas might not be all that reliable…” He chuckles nervously. “But I think Takaaki’s right. We need to cover more ground… and the only way we can do that is if we split up.”

I open my mouth with a “But…”, however whatever I wanted to say dies on my tongue and I smile sheepishly, content to let the adults brawl it out as long as they did it quickly. Whether I am being paranoid or not, it still doesn’t change the fact that we’re standing in a dangerous place, and wasting precious time. I tap my foot, and Yuuta gives me a look.

“We’re gonna die,” Hiroko states, one hand in the air as the other holds tight to the chubby cat in her arms. “Hate to say I told you so, when I see y’all on the other side.”

Taichi flinches at this, curling into his laptop protectively. Takaaki, however, only seems unimpressed.

“A few too many horror shows in your time, Hagakure,” the officer sighs. “We’re splitting up. Taichi, take the ruins team. And the ghost is going with you, too.”

Yuuta blinks, pointing at himself. “Me?”

The programmer nods reluctantly, more at being assigned leadership than anything else (from what I’ve seen, he doesn’t look like he’s got the greatest air of confidence about his own abilities, poor guy). “Okay,” he mumbles. “Yuuta, come over here. Kanon, Yamada, Pennyworth. We’re heading this way.”

His team is quiet, for the most part, assembling around him with relative ease. A quick gesture from Taichi leads Pennyworth – an strong, older man I never noticed before, dressed rather smartly and equipped with a solemn stare – to strike through the dust on the closest wall and reveal a little cavern beyond.  

Taichi ushers his team in, and gives the rest of the Resistance one lasting glance. Then he looks directly at me. “Are you sure you don’t want to come along? Your friend is coming, so…”

I know being separated from Yuuta shouldn’t be something that I should sit back and let happen – being scared as I am, losing him would be like losing training wheels whilst being unprepared – but despite all odds, I do. I am not in charge right now. And I have no intention of rebelling against a man with a gun.

“We need her,” Takaaki replies swiftly. “The megaphone, or hacking gun, is a very valuable piece of equipment. Having two of its users on the same team would be counterproductive.”

“I could take Kanon,” Hiroko chimes in, “Then Taichi could take Komaru.”

“No.” The officer is stern. “Kanon knows the ruins and the subway much better than the newcomer, here. And Yamada’s been mapping it out, too. The pair must stay with Taichi. You take Komaru.”

I’m not an object, I want to say, but at this point, I just want them to move along before something bad happens. Something bad _always_ happens. I scooch over to Hiroko. “Okay, I’m on her team. Who else?”

Hiroko smiles at me, but looking back up at Takaaki, her smile seems strained. “Yay, responsibility. Who else do I gotta take with me?”

Takaaki doesn’t even look, when he says, “Kenichirou, Ayaka. You’re with Hiroko and Komaru. Head to the surface via the sewers. I’ve got everyone else, and we’ll meet you there.”

I scrunch up my nose at the mention of ‘sewers’ but I don’t complain. A tall, rather burly man who looks like a martial artist shuffles over – I’m guessing that’s Kenichirou. Hiroko slaps him on the back in an act of friendship, and he laughs airily, as if it took all the breath out of his lungs.

I then turn to Ayaka, and immediately flip my head back in sheer panic.

_Okay, no, Komaru, don’t panic, that’s not Ayakasu “Rock you like Ayakasu” Ayaka Haneyama, of course not – oh, who am I kidding?! That’s Ayakasu! In Sayaka Maizono’s idol group! AYAKASU –_

“Hey,” she starts, probably aware by now that I’m staring at the wall like a gaping fish, mouthing ‘Ayakasu’ over and over again. “Stop freaking out.”

“I’m not freaking out!” I shout, turning around, then at the sight of her deadpan look, my arms start flailing, “Okay, yes, _yes_ , I am freaking out right now! Oh my god! Ayakasu?! It’s Ayakasu, right!?”

“That’s me.” The corner of her lip quirks upward, in a cheeky smile. “You’re a fan?”

“Am I ever!?” I feel like I’m glowing, unable to believe I’m meeting my idol in a place like this. “This must be _fate_ –”

Maybe some deity out there was kind enough to spare my embarrassment, or maybe they still wanted to kill me because at that moment I hear I sickening crack, and look down. A line is drawing itself through the floor, and I don’t know what it means so I start to panic, jumping left and right of it, as Ayaka looks bewildered and steps back. She stumbles into the wall, and growls a little at her own leg.

Takaaki starts shouting orders – everyone not on Team Taichi or Team Hiroko are to follow him up the stairs, whilst those on the teams must go down their designated paths _now_.

Taichi’s team is fast; Kanon taking off right after Pennyworth, Yamada in hand, and Taichi nudging Yuuta ahead (he waves goodbye to me, and I resist the urge to cry), and they disappear into the cavern in seconds.

Hiroko kicks me far away from the line, towards the ladders that lead to the sewers, and demands that Kenichirou carry Ayaka, because she’s sprained her ankle or something. He does it regardless of the reason, and I dash after him, looking back for a second to make sure Hiroko (and the stupid fat cat) are still behind us.

But as we’re left alone, on the way to descending into the muggy stench of the underground sewage system, we’re stopped by a figure in black – with long hair and sharp crimson eyes.  

“F-fukawa?” I blurt, and the others stop in their tracks, Hiroko glancing between the figure and me, as if trying to decide who to pay attention to.  

She (or they, really, I can’t tell but I’m too obsessed with finding my friend to think straight right now) doesn’t _look_ like Fukawa, not really, but there’s something that draws me towards her. When I’m taking a step closer, however, she turns and narrows her crimson eyes at me, leaping over the sewage to another platform with impossible ease.

“… Syo?” I try, but that doesn’t garner a response, either.

“Komaru, I don’t think –” Hiroko starts to say something, but quickly cuts herself off, as the stranger points a stark white finger at me. The fingernail on the end of that finger is so sharp it gleams.  

“Come with me…”

The voice is deep, smooth, empty. It’s not Fukawa. I don’t care anymore.

“… Miss Komaru Naegi.”

I start wailing.

Kenichirou places Ayaka on the floor and gets into a fighting stance. Hiroko drops the cat and does the same.

“Who are you and what do you want with her?!” The pink-haired woman yells, pulling out the most gangster-like expression I have seen from her yet. Her teeth show when she sneers, and the cigarette finally drops from her lips.

“You’re not part of the Resistance.” Kenichirou adds quietly, a certain subdued fury in his voice that makes me shudder. I would not want to get on his bad side.

“No.” The stranger responds coldly. They leap back over onto our side, soaring straight above the two fighters’ heads.  “But I’ve got her, now.”

And it’s not as if the other hits me, or makes me drink anything suspicious, but I suddenly see nothing but darkness. Their voices melt and muffle, like I’m listening underwater, and I feel myself slipping out of consciousness.  

Surprisingly, I don’t feel scared anymore.

Well, that is, until I wake up in the middle of nowhere.

Shooting up from my lying position, my eyes quickly scan the area. I try not to wince in pain – the sudden movement would only serve to aggravate my wounds. There’s the sound of the city, and the crackling of fire nearby, so my best bet is that I’m still in Towa (just back on the surface now, instead of hanging out underground).

I think back to the stranger that separated me from my team, and scowl.

Just my luck. Average teenage girl is stranded from everyone in the middle of an apocalypse with nothing but a megaphone because the world hates her. Story of my life.

I’m busy wallowing in my own self-pity, when I suddenly hear a voice.

It sounds like angry muttering, and metal scraping on metal in between every second sentence, but my senses are on sudden high alert. Did one of the other teams find me? Am I going to be saved? Has my luck finally turned around, and has Fukawa come to find me?

Of course not.

It’s one of those goddamn kids.

“Y-you’re - !?”

I sputter as soon as he’s in sight, effectively killing any chance of me escaping if he tried to capture me. _I hate this,_ I grumble to myself. It’s the short red one, at least. When it comes to children’s games, I can probably take him on. He’s barely half my size!

“Ah! Demon!” He points at me and shouts, though I can’t tell whether he’s horrified or delighted. I’d usually have thought the latter, but his eyes are blown wide and his arms are shaking by his sides, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. Because, y’know, I’m not a heartless beast? Kid may have done some bad stuff, but hey, if I die here, it was a long time coming anyway.

“What happened to your friends?!” I gripe, pointing right back at him.

“I’m not tellin’ you, dumbass!” He scrunches up his nose and sticks his tongue out at me. That childish, little…

“Well –”

“Hey! You know what I’m gonna do?” Before I can interrupt, he continues with a smug grin, “I’m gonna kill you, and then I’ll get lots of points and win the Demon Hunting!”

“How are you gonna do that?” I ask, keeping my tone flat. He doesn’t have any weapons on him, and I’m sure whatever weapon he would have had wouldn’t have done much to me anyway. Of course, I don’t want to underestimate these kids, so I stay alert, just in case a hoard of Monokuma or some sort of monster pops up around the corner.

“Are you stupid?” He grins, and cracks his knuckles, blue eyes shining with mirth. “I’m totally gonna beat you up!”

“Are _you_ stupid?” I shoot back, feeling a headache coming on just from talking to this kid. “There’s no way you can beat me up.”

“Sure I can! I use Jataro as a practice dummy all the time!”

 _Good grief._ I scrunch up my nose. _Is this what children do in their spare time nowadays? Beat each other up? That’s hardcore. And also horrible. Kids are horrible._

“Yeah, well, in case you hadn’t noticed…”

An explosion nearby cuts off all chance of the conversation continuing, and without thinking, I grab his arm and start running – hating the fact that all I’ve done in this godforsaken city is just that. Run, run, run.

And then, the Monokuma come.

“It’s fine, already!” He whines, when I keep dragging him to run across fields of debris, “I can handle it! Monokuma won’t attack me! They’re my slaves, you dumbass! I’m the leader, they’ll listen to me! Leaders are always listened to! Let me go!”

Ah, children.

I have to question though… what _was_ this kid doing all by himself? It’s hard to believe he was out looking for adults, especially without a weapon at his disposal.

“Shut up,” I snap, tugging him further along. “I’m not letting go now; you have to tell me what you’re up to! Or what your group plans on doing next, anyway!”

“Who says I gotta tell you anything?!”

“I say!”

“Who says I gotta listen to you, then!?”

“I do!”

“Well, you’re stupid!”

“No, you are!”

It would almost be nostalgic – this kind of dumb, childish conversation – if our situation wasn’t so dire. Really, looking at him like this, he seems like just a normal kid. A really obnoxious, annoying one, but a normal kid all the same.

“You’re stupider!” He sticks his tongue out at me.

“No, you’re the stupidest!”

We slow down once we enter the ruins of a building, and I tug him all the way over to an odd-looking fountain; sitting in it and gesturing for him to do the same. There’s a scowl etched into his features but he obliges, sighing loudly as if to say I should be grateful that he decided to listen to me and grace me with his presence.

I laugh a little to myself. For a brat, he sure is easy to read.

“What?” He grumbles, crossing his arms. “I’m still going to beat you up, you know. Because you’re a coward. And you’re weak.”

I don’t rise to the bait this time. Fukawa’s told me those things already. I know.

I look up, once more hoping with my heart that my friend is safe somewhere – and maybe it’s wishful thinking knowing Fukawa, but I hope she’s worried about me, too.

In this chaos, I start to wonder if the leader of the children had a bigger motive to fulfill. If the true leader is who I think it might be… unfortunately, meaning, that it’s not this guy… then I really have to wonder, what do they want? And what was with the guy from earlier that kidnapped me? In any case, I guess talking to this kid would probably lead to some answers. Key word being probably.

Is he the leader or not? I just need to make sure. I send the red-haired kid a sideways glance, and ask slowly, hoping not to rile him, “Hey… you said you’re the leader of your uh, little squad, right?”

He puffs out his chest the best he can and nods proudly. “Sure I am. Leader of the Warriors of Hope! Soon to be leader of all of Towa City! Lord Masaru Daimon – heh, wow, cool, right? – that’s me!”

And with that, my suspicions are confirmed.

He’s not the leader – but a decoy. I may not be smart, but I’ve played enough video games to know when things don’t add up.

Of course! A ham like him couldn’t be the _true_ mastermind behind all of this… madness. So that means the leader must be one of the others, or someone else working behind the scenes, choosing to hide behind this tiny man’s enormous ego and perpetual outdoor voice.

Essentially, he’s being used.

I feel a little sorry for him, but then again he did commit genocide, and in my books, that’s an absolute no-no. It’s a pity. From the outside, he looks like such a good kid.

He’s still grumbling something under his breath when I look at him again. I assume he’s just miffed that I didn’t seem too impressed by his credentials. Whoops.

“So, uh…” I start, before I hear a familiar mechanical roar and I just die a little inside. Why is life so difficult, really? My fingers reach for my hacking gun. I may not be very good at a lot of things, but I’ve got practice. My companion looks annoyed, getting to his feet with one smooth motion.

“Monaka said they would stay out of my way until I called for them…” he mutters, cracking his knuckles. “What the hell do they want? Unless… one of the others called them…”

“What are you saying?” I ask, aiming carefully and shooting a running Monokuma in the eye. A small victory dance goes on in my head. Usually it takes me a few shots to take one of those things down. I must be levelling up. Or, uh, something.

But it all goes downhill when he ignores me and trudges ahead, quick reflexes being the only thing saving him from a slash in the face. I panic, shooting wildly at the animatronic bear, forcing it off the kid with a final distressed cry.

“I thought you said the Monokuma wouldn’t attack you!” I shriek, before immediately cutting myself off short, seeing the shock flash across his face.

“W-why are they –” He swallows, ducking out of the way as a claw comes straight for him fron the other side. In the next second, he has his leg kicking out and sending the stuffed robot flying. “What the hell are you doing, you stupid bear?! I’m in charge of you, dammit!”

 _At least he’s not completely incompetent._ I think, before feeling bad about it right after. _What am I saying…? If anyone’s incompetent around here, it’s me…_

“Oi, oi, stupid lady, look out!”

I feel myself being shoved under a bus, quite literally, as to my surprise – the kid pushes me out of harm’s way. He doesn’t get hurt himself, being rather impressively agile on his feet, but he looks thoroughly peeved when I get back up again and smile at him.

“Thanks, kiddo.”

“Should’ve just let you die.” He mumbles. Then he punches a Monokuma in the eye.

I don’t extend my apologies or thanks – not wanting to embarrass him any further, despite my growing desire to annoy him for no particular reason – and just keep the smile plastered on my face.

Maybe, even though I’m as incompetent as I am, I still have the chance to fight. I’m not alone in this city, after all. I idly wonder if Yuuta is doing okay with the others. Then I shake the worry out of my mind.

I have to live in the now. And the now dictates that I’m looking for both Fukawa and a way to stop those darned kids from unleashing hell on the world.

If they haven’t already. I’m assuming it’s a long process. If it isn’t, then we’re all screwed and everyone is going to die. Great.

“Hey, uh, Slowpokemaru,” the kid starts, a dark look clouding his face. I groan internally at the dumb nickname, but don’t comment on it just yet. Whatever he’s about to say seems more important, at least, more important that most of the other things he has said. I might as well give him the benefit of the doubt … again.

“What is it?”

“You’re going with me to Towa Hills whether you like it or not.” He states decisively, grinding his fists together. “I have a score I need to settle.”

“Sorry? Where?”

“The base of the Warriors of Hope, duh!”

I blink. He must have been talking about that castle that I was in when they put this wristband on me, right? Putting a name to it made me feel a bit better, because now I could avoid it like the plague. Like hell am I let this kid… _kidnap_ me. Hehe.

“Is this about the Monokuma attacking you?”

“More than just that,” he replies, oddly serious. “I wanna know what _she’s_ up to and why.”

“Trouble in paradise?” I laugh humorlessly. He glowers at me, eyebrows furrowed and blue eyes sharp.

“Fuck off.” He spits, looking thoroughly satisfied with his choice of wording. I am stunned momentarily, before remembering that this is the kid with no tact, and I just sigh. Maybe he thinks swearing is cool or something. I wouldn’t put it past him.

“Can you even find your way back home in this mess?”

He looks out at the ruins of Towa, and shrugs after a moment. His mouth stretches into a wide (albeit nervous) grin, as he declares, “I’m a hero! Great heroes never get lost!”

_Oh, dear._


End file.
